Cellular Intelligence

>>When I wrote an article earlierthis year on smart phones, Google’s Android seemed to be just hype. But now that T-Mobile says it will be the first to use the new open-source cell-phone operating system internationally, it is time to evaluate it. And if you believe the hype behind Android, you haven’t seen anything yet when it comes to a smart phone. With open-source software, any developer can write programs for the phone; the potential becomes unlimited.

Background information

A smart phone is a cell phone with an operating system that is similar to a computer, though much less powerful. The operating system is the brains behind the phone, controlling the applications that run on it. A smart phone goes beyond the traditional cell phone by giving the user computer-like features, such as Word and Excel documents, e-mail and the ability to sync—or share information—with a computer.

Until recently, the smart phone has basically run two operating systems: Microsoft and Palm, each with its advantages and disadvantages. For example, Palm doesn’t sync well with Microsoft programs, and Microsoft drains batteries. Even Apple’s iPhone uses proprietary software, which runs only on its phone; again, you will have the compatibility issues with Microsoft XP or Vista
programs running on your computer.

The Android difference

Google’s Android in its basic form will be the new brains behind the next generation of smart phones. It will run basic programs, manage battery consumption and allow different programs to operate.